Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI) (pronounced ''perry'') is a non-profit

astronomical observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. His ...

located in the Pisgah National Forest near Balsam Grove, North Carolina. PARI operates multiple radio telescopes and optical telescopes for research and teaching purposes. The observatory is affiliated with the University of North Carolina system through the Pisgah Astronomical Research and Science Educational Center (PARSEC).

History

PARI is located at the site of the former Rosman Satellite Tracking Station, which was established by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA) in 1962. The site was part of the worldwide

Spacecraft Tracking and Data Acquisition Network The Spacecraft Tracking and Data (Acquisition) Network (STADAN or STDN) was established by NASA in the early 1960s to satisfy the requirement for long-duration, highly available space-to-ground communications. The network was the “follow-on” ...

and an integral communications link for the manned space programs

Project Gemini Project Gemini () was NASA's second human spaceflight program. Conducted between projects Mercury and Apollo, Gemini started in 1961 and concluded in 1966. The Gemini spacecraft carried a two-astronaut crew. Ten Gemini crews and 16 individual ...

and Project Apollo. The facility was transferred to the National Security Agency (NSA) in 1981. Known as the Rosman Research Station, it was used as a

signals intelligence Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ( ...

gathering facility. The site was closed by the NSA in 1995 and transferred to the United States Forest Service. After several years of inactivity, the federal government proposed to dismantle the facility. Recognizing the utility of the site, a small group of interested scientists and businessmen formed a not-for-profit foundation, which acquired the site in January 1999. It has continued capital investment at the facility, enabling updates of the equipment for astronomical observation purposes. A staff of professional astronomers, engineers, and other scientists work at the observatory.

Research and education

PARI hosts research and study programs with

Furman University Furman University is a private liberal arts university in Greenville, South Carolina. Founded in 1826 and named for the clergyman Richard Furman, Furman University is the oldest private institution of higher learning in South Carolina. It became ...

, Clemson University, Virginia Tech, South Carolina State University and

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

. The PARI site has hosted several professional astronomy meetings, including the Small Radio Telescope Conference in August 2001, the Gamma-Ray Bursts Today and Tomorrow Conference in August 2002 and the Workshop on a National Plan for Preserving Astronomical Photographic Plates in November 2007. PARI hosts several educational opportunities, including the

Talent Identification Program. PARI also sponsors astronomy educational programs using the portable StarLab

planetarium A planetarium ( planetariums or ''planetaria'') is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation. A dominant feature of most planetarium ...

. These have been presented to more than 40,000 people in Western North Carolina.

Facilities

The principal radio research instruments at PARI are two 26-meter radio telescopes and a 4.6-meter radio telescope named Smiley. These have been adapted for precision tracking of celestial radio sources using multiple frequencies. Smiley is used for remote classroom teaching of astronomy by students in the US and worldwide. Smiley was given its pleasant face around 1982 as a greeting to overflying foreign

surveillance satellites A reconnaissance satellite or intelligence satellite (commonly, although unofficially, referred to as a spy satellite) is an Earth observation satellite or communications satellite deployed for military or intelligence applications. The ...

. PARI is home to the Astronomical Photographic Data Archive (APDA), a site to help preserve astronomical photographic plates. These plates were the primary recording medium for astronomy data from the late 19th century until the 1980s. It is estimated that over two million of the plates are held in astronomy facilities around the world and are in jeopardy of being destroyed because of a lack of storage facilities. An Exhibit Gallery displays a collection of rare meteorites and minerals, as well as NASA Space Shuttle artifacts. Many of the latter are from space flights. Image:17 22 055 A7 engine.jpg, Redstone rocket engine on display Image:17 22 008 fossil.jpg, Knightia fossils from the Green River Formation Image:17 22 015 ferns.jpg, Carboniferous Ferns Image:17 22 112 petrified wood.jpg, Petrified Wood Image:17 22 062 amethyst.jpg, Brazilian

Amethyst Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz. The name comes from the Koine Greek αμέθυστος ''amethystos'' from α- ''a-'', "not" and μεθύσκω (Ancient Greek) / μεθώ (Modern Greek), "intoxicate", a reference to the belief that t ...

Image:17 22 070 toluca.jpg,

Toluca meteorite Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. With a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census, Toluca is the fifth most populous city in Mexico. The city f ...

Image:17 22 078 meteorite.jpg,

Seymchan meteorite Seymchan may refer to: *Seymchan (urban-type settlement), an urban-type settlement in Magadan Oblast, Russia *Seymchan (Kolyma), a tributary of the Kolyma *Seymchan Airport, an airport in Magadan Oblast *Seymchan (meteorite) Seymchan is a pallasite ...

Image:17 22 086 meteor.jpg, Canyon Diablo Meteorite Image:17 22 104 meteorite.jpg, Fragment of

D'Orbigny meteorite D'Orbigny meteorite was found near Buenos Aires, Argentina in September 1979. It is the largest angrite Angrites are a rare group of achondrites consisting mostly of Al-Ti bearing diopside, hedenbergite, olivine, anorthite and troilite with mi ...

Image:17 22 094 agate.jpg, Agates collected between 1920 - 1950

Notes

General references

*Goldman, Stuart J. "Mission Possible: The Promise of Pisgah." '' Sky & Telescope''. October 2001:42. *Hargreaves, Lynley.
"Spy Station Retooled into Astronomy Institute"
'' Physics Today''. March 2001 Volume 54, number 3.

External links